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Friday, August 3, 2012

The Assam riots corrigendum

The
past month has witnessed Assam riots occupying the central position in the
discourse of political circles, media and intellectuals not to mention the
average Indian. Media carried reports and pictures of the horrible carnage that
was being played out. The fact that Kokrajhar was a vital linking point between
North East and the rest of India further intensified the scenario. Thus we need
to understand what the underlying principle behind this debate is. Such debates
often seem to end in the “illegal immigrants” rhetoric or at times Hindu versus
Muslim (which is very much a misnomer).

Let
us start with the Hindu-Muslim discourse. We must understand that Bodos are a
tribal society where people have converted to Hinduism and further To
Christianity over a period of time. Bodos are a holistic pluralistic society
and not one colorful banner of Hindu unity as many perceive it to be.Infact the
intra war between BLT and NDFB in the early 1990’s had a stronger religious
contention to it.Thus there was no Bodo waging a war to save Hinduism.

The
Assamese Muslim society like everywhere else is not holistic monolithic
structure either. It has its own divisions between miyas,goalporais,khilonjias
etc.In India whenever riots have traditionally targeted Muslims the situation
in the whole state has remained tensed. For eg whenever riots occur in UP, the
Muslim society of the whole state is cautious. No such situation was played
out. The Khilonjias in the state elsewhere were neither harassed nor were they
tensed either.This very fact speaks out that they themselves knew this was not
a Hindu Muslim conflict as media and a section of communalists on both sides of
the social media have played it out to be.It is essentially a conflict between
two groups which has been further intensified by governance defaults.

This
brings us to the question of governance mismanagement and the larger question
of illegal immigration. As much as secularists and government would like to
debunk the theory illegal immigration did occur in Assam for a long time. It
started with Sir Sadullah brining people from the Mymensigh districts to work
in the rice fields of Nagaon. And this trend has continued since then. Anyone
who debunks this perhaps fails to understand that migration is a human
phenomenon. With poverty rung large on the face of Bangladesh it is only
natural that its citizens would be forced to look elsewhere. It has happened in
Mexico, it has happened in Somalia so why not Assam. It is a simple question of
human existence. And anyone who visits the Indo-Bangladesh border will
understand how easy it is to cross the border. Thus those who believe that no
illegal immigration can occur, are indeed wrong. Historical evidences sociological
perspectives are enough to substantiate that migration has occurred and will
indeed continue to occur even without bringing the demographics to question.

Coming
to the question of demographics and the so called rise of Muslims in the 11
districts which has rung the caution bells for many.A fundamental question is
that is Muslim population rising wrong?The answer is no.But then this
population rise has to be read in concurrence with fertility rates, IMR and MMR
rates. And when these data are compared then indeed a mismatch is found. The
answer is migration. People have migrated to these districts. Now the question
we have to ask next is that are there so many people in Assam that migration
have occurred at such rapid rates .The answer to this lies in the char areas.
These small islands on the river Brahmaputra are an enigma of their own. Some
lie with India some with Bangladesh and some are not very sure where their
nationalities lie. In many cases their plight is comparable with the plight of
the people in the enclaves of the Cooch Behar region.

A
section of intelligentsia has argued that the migration and flow of people that
occur into Assam have flown into these areas. In many ways this is a correct assessment.
Since the char areas are regularly hit by the fury of the Brahmaputra Rivers.
That they will migrate to the plains of Assam is only understandable. However
Sanjoy Hazarika has successfully shown in his classic work “Rites of Passage”
that while there has been a steady inflow of people from the Chars to the
mainland yet the Chars are not devoid of people either .Thus without doubt
migrations has indeed occurred or continue to occur. What has perhaps changed
since the 1990’s is the degree in which this migration has occurred.

Yet
the root cause of these riots is not migration it is the balant failure of
governance. Once BTAD was declared government failed to address the concerns of
the non Bodo people living in these areas. The highhandness of the officials in
the BTAD councils only complicated matters. For years now intellectuals in
Assam with deep sociological understanding had been warning of a impending
crisis in Assam in the subaltern level. These riots are a manifestation of that
warning in totality.

Smaller
states and autonomous councils have not proved to be a solution anywhere in
this country. In NE this has held true all the more. Inspite of being smaller
states with high human development index on a few parameters the states have
not been able to develop on other scales. The aspirations of the people have
remained unfulfilled. As many have argued what is needed in NE today is not
territorial sovereignty as many tribes seek out but non territorial sovereignty
and regions. While this would seek to fulfill the aspirations of the tribes
which have hitherto lived in the fringes it would also cease to become a
question which is locked in the debate of further state reorganization. Today
declaring one more state would create a volatile scenario for the country. Thus
the aspirations of the people have to be addressed in a new manner.

Coming
to the question of migrants we must understand the economic resources like land
water etc are the moot cause of conflict between communities. They often take
the cry of religion caste or language but that is merely a rallying war cry. In
reality it is fight between two groups to control resources. One of the prime
vital resources in land. Encroachment of land especially those like the ones
that have happened in and around Kaziranga National Park must be banned. The
government must admit that refugees are a problem and plans must be made to
settle them in a cohesive manner. Politics, in the name of these citizens -whether
doubtful or established -must be stopped. There is no doubt that the rise of
Badruddin Ajmal and his AIUDF in the history of Assam politics is a reflection
of this trend. This party cannot call itself a “Muslim” party since it has no
support whatsoever among the Muslims of Upper Assam. At best it can be called
to cater to the aspirations of a certain section of people. At one point of
time an MLA of this party had infact demanded a separate state in Assam based
on religious lines. What was unfortunate that it even found acceptance among a
section of the youth of this region. Such events bring back the pain of
partition to our mind. Hence politics in the name of these certain section of
people must be stopped.

Towards
this the first step the government must take is updating the NRC roll. Inspite
of opposition from all sides the government must go ahead and take this step.
Secondly the concepts of D voters must be wiped out. The foreigner detection
tribunal in Assam is nothing but a joke and the ground realties of today are
such that it’s of no use today. Hence it must be immediately scrapped. Further
there must be a discussion on whether we can keep 1971 as the cutoff mark. Is
it really possible to identify and deport back people? Historically it has
never been possible anywhere else in the world; at best it can give us flashes
of the horrors of Neyllie massacre.

The
thinking in this matter has to be forward looking as well. The UN has predicted
that by 2020 a large number of people in the world will be environmental
refugees. There is no doubt that a large number of people in low lying
Bangladesh will be rendered homeless in the coming years due to rising sea
level. And there is little doubt that they will move towards India. Thus it is
in India’s own strategic interest that it helps Bangladesh mitigate the effects
of climate change and help it in tackling it.

Politicians’
,student organizations cutting across party lines must sit down and admit
illegal immigration has still persisted as a problem. New approach is required
to tackle it. This approach has to be holistic and must encompass development
as the fundamental principle. The NE requires a new vision and a new approach
to stop it from burning once more.

good one pablo! for once i felt like commenting in an article of yours.. it was logical, well researched n sans bundled rhetoric.. the sad thing is, u n i n many others know what should be done to ease out assam's problems but that is not quite happening.. hopefully sanity will prevail n yes i agree that the boros, though a fantastic tribe, are no guardians of hinduism n thus giving it a communal tinge would be blatant.. fight for resources is at it's core n it's not unfounded either! :)